Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives $269.92 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $270.38.

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE:LH opened at $222.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.63 and its 200 day moving average is $234.90. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,258 shares of company stock worth $3,753,177 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.